Pertussis

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Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough or 100-day cough. It is a respiratory tract infection characterized by a paroxysmal cough. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in infants younger than 2 years.

Pertussis takes about 7 to 10 days for signs and symptoms to appear. Some of the common symptoms are runny nose, Nasal congestion, Red, watery eyes, Cough, Rhinorrhea, Sneezing, Low-grade fever, Tearing, Conjunctival suffusion .After two weeks , signs and symptoms will worse. Thick mucus accumulates inside your airways, causing uncontrollable coughing leading to provoked vomiting, red or blue face, extreme fatigue, high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air. Infants may not cough at all. Instead, they may struggle to breathe, or they may even temporarily stop breathing.

Pertussis can be treated by focussing on limiting the number of paroxysms, Observing the severity of cough and providing assistance when necessary, Maximizing nutrition, rest, and recovery, Pharmacologic therapy, Antimicrobial agents and antibiotics can hasten the eradication of B . Erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin are the preferred agents for patients aged 1 month or older and it can also be reduced by Immunization, CDC recommendations for vaccination, DTaP vaccine, Tdap vaccine.

There have been several outbreaks of whooping cough in recent years (including 2012) and work is ongoing to develop vaccines that will give even better protection.